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Old 08-20-2010, 10:32 AM   #6
Anaedilla

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Oct 2005
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Similar to what SineadsMom but these are my criteria:

Firstly establish it is definitely HA and not some other issue where someone with no dog experience thinks because the dog growled at them or nipped their finger playing it's going to grow into a vicious man biter.

So assuming it is beyond doubt HA, and assuming we are talking about "pit bulls" and not dogs that traditionally have some degree of HA then:

Is it in a shelter (or waiting in a foster environment)? Tough, hard enough making sure a stable dog gets into a sane, good home. I wouldn't want to be the one to blame for putting a biter there.

Is it already in someone's home as their pet? This is where I don't agree with what everyone else says 90% of the time because the fact is it ain't their dog. It is the decision of the owner and the owner only. But it will only remain the owner's decision to make IF:

  1. The owner is sufficiently experienced with dogs to deal with it effectively.
  2. The owner understands the risks and knows how to manage/control/contain them.
  3. The dog will not be bred, unless it is a guarding breed and the HA is desired and controllable.
  4. The dog is NEVER allowed to be in a situation where it can attack someone (the exception on this for me would be a guarding dog who can attack when doing so is appropriate). I've been there on this, the dog was ruled dangerous and had to be muzzled and on leash at all times if it was out, it could only be outside off leash if it was in a kennel that had a concrete floor, walls embedded into the concrete, was covered etc. The dog bit someone. The owner (my roommate) told the "victim" not to continue doing what he was doing, the "victim" didn't listen and 100 some pounds of Rottweiler convinced him real quick why my roommate had asked him (very politely I might add) not to continue doing what he was doing. He was a good dog so we made absolutely sure he could never get in trouble again as long as he lived.
  5. The owner is willing to put in the time, deal with the inconvenience, and anything else that is involved in making sure of the above. (We spent one of our weekends building the kennel for him, adjusted our schedules to walk him when less people would be out, etc.)
  6. The owner is willing to kill the dog if they cannot accomplish the above.

I think the majority of people don't want to deal with the above when it is simpler just to drop the dog and move on. For a "pit bull" it is serious defect, for other breeds not quite as much but still an issue and (again saying it is definite HA and not lack of training, owner stupidity, medical problems, etc.) the owner has to determine the risks and the value of taking on those risks.

If they cannot, the city/county/neighbors etc. will step in and handle it their way. At that point the owner is usually screwed.

I honestly don't believe anyone should EVER have to go to an online forum and ask people WHAT SHOULD I DO? As a dog owner you should already know if the situation arises how you will handle it and evaluate each dog in your life as you have to. But lots of people get dogs never thinking breed A may behave differently and have different problems to manage than breed B or C and often never really understanding that dog's do dog things. Dog things are not people things. So the dog acts like an animal not a child and there they are freaking out going "he did this, what should I do?"

These are people that probably should euth and get a pet rock instead.

Ah, just noticed you specified APBT in the thread title.
Excellent post.

As I've posted previously on here, I grew up with a GSD that was very aggressive towards people she didn't grow up with and also very dog aggressive. However, she was pretty tightly obedience trained and we managed her. It was a huge pain in the ass, but honestly, I consider it worth it because she was SOOO good with the family, and despite the fact that she wanted to kill most people/dogs, she'd let herself get beat up by the cats, for some reason.

Mick WAS fear-aggressive towards children when he was younger, and now he's good with them. He outgrew the fear aggression with them by the time he was two. Personally, I think kids abused him, because he'd freak out by the sight of small kids (8yrs+ was always a-okay). Now he pretty much likes all kids, but he's only had positive experiences with them since I've had him, and I've put a lot of work into ensuring that.

He's not an easy dog. He can be very dog aggressive with certain breeds, but I love him. And I do not consider DA a fault. It's actually very common in Border Collies, but the fur mommies often like to call it "reactive." The plain truth is, a lot of the time, they just don't like other dogs. They tend to be very serious, and not like dogs that get in their way.

Whenever I own a bunch of land myself, I'm gonna get sheep and a few Marrema dogs. I expect those dogs to be pretty aggressive. It's their job.

On edit: My post doesn't have to do with APBTs. Though, if I did have a HA APBT, my original post in this thread would stand.
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